state coordinator

FairTest is part of a new Massachusetts coalition with a simple message: It's time for Governor Charlie Baker and the state legislature to make it their number one priority to reinvest $1.5 billion a year in public education, from pre-K through college, with the funding increase not attached to any additional testing.

Our public education system is a key part of what makes Massachusetts a great place to live and work. But testing overkill, combined with austerity school funding, has undermined our schools and our quality of life.

Community meetings or town halls are a great way to educate, network and organize around testing issues. Panels of speakers can inform the community about high-stakes testing and its consequences and inspire people to take action. Forums also provide opportunities to promote authentic assessment and related school reforms.

Nina Bishop is asking parents across the country to join her in seeking redress from schools that bully children when parents opt them out of oppressive state testing. Drawing on her own experience of the difficulties encountered when opting children out of the CSAP, a Colorado state test instituted in compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, Bishop seeks protection under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment of the U. S. Constitution.